--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't want to spend your life writing…" description: "\"You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the temporal mediocre and write in a way that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg" --- # You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that… ![“You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the temporal mediocre and write in a way that is meaningful to everybody. This goes back to this idea of being intimate with your reader. Since we're all down here and we're all dying and…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg) > “You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the temporal mediocre and write in a way that is meaningful to everybody. This goes back to this idea of being intimate with your reader. Since we're all down here and we're all dying and aspiring and loving and feeling inadequate, all these things that we all are doing all the time, what a relief it is, when somebody looks at you and says, "Yeah, me too."” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should aim for universal relevance by sharing honest, intimate experiences that resonate with all readers. **In simple terms:** Write honestly to connect with everyone. Key Takeaway Seek shared humanity in your work. Themes writing authenticity connection Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal essays - fiction - public speaking Key Concepts empathy universality narrative voice Questions to Reflect On - What personal truth can you share universally? - How does vulnerability strengthen storytelling? A Different Perspective Over‑generalizing can dilute personal voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feeling Inadequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-inadequate/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Intimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Feeling inadequate is an occupational hazard of motherhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/feeling-inadequate-is-an-occupational-hazard-of-motherhood/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [“No one should have to go through life feeling inadequate because of what she was denied by birth or circumstance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cutrera/no-one-should-have-to-go-through-life-feeling-inadequate-because-of/) Barbara Cutrera > [Destructive Failure: Reveals limitations and weakness, highlights your shortcomings and when not processed correctly, keeps you feeling inadequate and defective. Productive failure: Reveals limitations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-hunt/destructive-failure-reveals-limitations-and-weakness-highlights-your/) [June Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-hunt/) > [Feeling insignificant because the universe is large has exactly the same logic as feeling inadequate for not being a cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/feeling-insignificant-because-the-universe-is-large-has-exactly-the/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [Since no one is always right, always being right is really a role model for his children feeling inadequate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/since-no-one-is-always-right-always-being-right-is-really-a-role/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [In this cultural moment, many of us are feeling inadequate to solve societal problems - fascism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, anti-Semitism, the list goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabina-murray/in-this-cultural-moment-many-of-us-are-feeling-inadequate-to-solve/) [Sabina Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabina-murray/) > [“Feeling inadequate has always been my biggest problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ritz/feeling-inadequate-has-always-been-my-biggest-problem/) David Ritz > [I was afraid that I would find out that I didn't work hard, that I wasn't a very good mother. I was feeling so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-schulte/i-was-afraid-that-i-would-find-out-that-i-didn-t-work-hard-that-i/) [Brigid Schulte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-schulte/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He knew that to achieve greatness you had to be an outsider. He knew that by struggling against adverse opinion, by sometimes feeling inadequate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gibbins/he-knew-that-to-achieve-greatness-you-had-to-be-an-outsider-he-knew/) David Gibbins > [“Paul turned her to face him. “I see a breathtaking woman scared to death to see how beautiful she actually is, a woman refusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-niles/paul-turned-her-to-face-him-i-see-a-breathtaking-woman-scared-to/) [Abby Niles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-niles/) > [“IF YOU POSTPONE TAKING ACTION BECAUSE YOU FEAR FAILURE, OR BECAUSE OF FEELING INADEQUATE, YOU HAVE ALREADY FAILED.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-un-mares/if-you-postpone-taking-action-because-you-fear-failure-or-because-of/) [Théun Mares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-un-mares/) > [“After all, that constant pressure to be something amazing, to be the next big thing, will be lifted off your back. The stress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/after-all-that-constant-pressure-to-be-something-amazing-to-be-the/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“There is not one moment when that feeling of inadequate sorrow goes away. It just lessens and lessens, until it is mostly a memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-is-not-one-moment-when-that-feeling-of-inadequate-sorrow-goes/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I slowly lean in toward her when her lips part into a smile. “Are you planning on using tongue this time?” she whispers. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-slowly-lean-in-toward-her-when-her-lips-part-into-a-smile-are-you/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of the temporal mediocre and write in a way that is meaningful to everybody. This goes back to this idea of being intimate with your reader. Since we're all down here and we're all dying and aspiring and loving and feeling inadequate, all these things that we all are doing all the time, what a relief it is, when somebody looks at you and says, \"Yeah, me too.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writing-about-stuff-that-doesn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writing-about-stuff-that-doesn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/george-saunders-317_books_you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writin_3234235.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You don't want to spend your life writing about stuff that doesn't matter. You want to try to pull out of…” — George Saunders", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You don't want to spend your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writing-about-stuff-that-doesn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-spend-your-life-writing-about-stuff-that-doesn-t/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```